Thought This Was AI...

Hi Global Recap readers,

With AI-generated videos flooding the internet these days, it’s not exactly wild to second-guess everything you see online.

• Over the weekend, I was scrolling through social media when I came across several clips showing a Russian oil facility supposedly burning after a Ukrainian attack.

• I bookmarked them, thinking they might be useful for today’s newsletter.

But then I saw the video below. Tell me I’m not the only one second-guessing everything after that. 👇️ 

🌐 WORLD
Fast Scroll News

🇷🇺 TikTok Arrests Ignite Russia

Two Russian influencers shot to instant (and unwanted) fame after posting a TikTok of themselves singing in front of a burning oil depot in Sochi, moments after it was struck by a Ukrainian drone.

• Names: Dasha Vladimirovna Loskutova (21) and Karina Evgenyevna Oshurkova (20) plus one unnamed man, filmed at the Rosneft-Kubannefteprodukt site.

• Aftermath: Police caught them near Sochi. They were forced to confess on video.

• Charge: Oshchurkova was just fined 30,000 rubles ($376) for breaking emergency rules (article 20.6.1) during a high-alert regime. In court, she blamed “alcoholic intoxication” for her decision to film.

🇮🇳 India Hits Back

India’s foreign ministry just slammed the US and EU for “targeting” its Russian oil imports after Trump threatened steeper tariffs on New Delhi.

• Trade: Trump floated “substantially raising” tariffs but skipped the exact numbers—last week he threatened a 25 percent duty and an undefined penalty.

• Numbers: India’s trade with Russia hit $68.7 billion by March 2025, nearly six times pre-pandemic levels; EU’s 2024 trade with Russia was “significantly more,” at $78.1 billion.

• Justification: India says it only started buying Russian oil after Europe diverted its own supplies post-Ukraine war and claims the US once encouraged these purchases to stabilize global prices.

• Hypocrisy? New Delhi accused the US of still importing uranium, palladium, and chemicals from Russia despite its tough talk.

🇧🇷 Court Locks Down Bolsonaro

Brazil’s Supreme Court just hit Jair Bolsonaro with house arrest after he allegedly tried to overturn the 2022 election and then ignored every rule thrown at him.

• Judge: Justice Alexandre de Moraes says Bolsonaro kept breaking July’s restrictions (ankle monitor, curfew, social media blackout) by sneaking messages out through his sons and allies.

• Defiance: On Sunday, Bolsonaro’s camp livestreamed him at a rally, blowing off the speech ban, so now he’s banned from visitors (except lawyers) and lost his phones.

• US Angle: The US State Department condemned the arrest, claiming Brazil’s courts are “silencing opposition.” Trump is calling the trial a “witch hunt” and just slapped Brazil with 50% tariffs, linking them straight to Bolsonaro’s case.

• Protests: Tens of thousands marched for Bolsonaro last weekend, demanding “amnesty” for him and others accused of the coup plot.

🇷🇼 Rwanda Accepts Deportees

Rwanda just agreed to take up to 250 migrants booted from the US, with the Trump team pressing African countries to handle its deportees.

• Motivation: Rwanda says this is about “reintegration and rehabilitation,” rooted in Rwanda’s history of displacement.

  • “Nearly every Rwandan family has experienced the hardships of displacement,” says government spokesperson Yolande Makolo.

• Strategy: The US will bankroll training, healthcare, and housing for arrivals, but nobody’s getting locked up.

• Process: Rwanda gets to approve each person—first batch is 10, with more to follow in small groups.

• Diplomacy: Officials admit it’s about building “a more balanced relationship” with Washington, not just charity.

• History: - Rwanda’s no stranger to these deals. It took migrants from the UK (2022) and Libya (2019).

🇰🇷 South Korea Silences Border

South Korea just dismantled the loudspeakers that used to blast K-pop and democracy slogans across the DMZ at North Korea.

• Reason: New liberal president Lee Jae Myung wants to cool things off with Pyongyang, calling it a “practical measure.”

• History: These broadcasts were revived last summer after North Korea sent trash balloons into South Korea.

• Change: Yoon Suk Yeol, the conservative ex-president who championed those border broadcasts, got booted this year after he declared martial law to allegedly dissolve parliament.

• Response: North Korea is silent about this move, but Kim Jong Un’s sister recently called the South’s friendliness pointless given its “blind trust” in the US.

🇮🇱 ISRAEL
Netanyahu’s “all or nothing” gamble

Netanyahu is doubling down on a full occupation of Gaza, just as the Trump team scraps phased hostage deals for a single, sweeping release.

Netanyahu’s Military Push

Israel’s leadership is setting new war orders this week, aiming for total control and zero more threats from Gaza. But there’s a catch.

• He wants to “defeat the enemy, release our hostages and ensure that Gaza will never again threaten Israel.”

• Israeli officials admit talks with Trump’s crew are still ongoing, but say “Hamas is not interested in a deal.”

• Some right-wing ministers have long pushed for a total takeover, while security chiefs claim Hamas’s ability to govern and launch military strikes has already been stifled.

• The Israel Defense Forces claims control of over 75% of Gaza already.

Hostages: No Piecemeal Deals

On top of that, the US is ditching incremental releases, flipping to a risky “all or nothing” approach.

• Steve Witkoff, Trump’s envoy, told families a partial ceasefire for half the hostages “doesn’t work and we’ve tried everything.”

US Track Record

But here's the thing, this isn't the first time the Trump administration is trying this "all out" method:

• On February 10, 2025, Trump warned if all hostages were not released by "Saturday at noon (...) all hell is going to break out."

• On March 5, 2025, Trump issued his "last warning," saying that if they don't release the hostages now, "THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY LAYER!"

And now, after months of stalled ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations, the Trump administration is reverting to its original plan.

Will it work this time?